Industrialization In Colonial America

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America has gained the reputation of “land of the free”. For centuries, people from various nations have been drawn to seek the freedoms that the land of America has to offer-economic opportunity, religious tolerance, and a political voice. With the rise of the industrialization in Early American history, many were drawn to the opportunity for economic prosperity. This premise created an influx of immigrants and an increase in slave trading. Colonial industries economies were largely dependent on slave labor and influx of immigrants. The unscrupulous treatment of immigrants and slaves played a significant role in economic development of Colonial America. Slaves were bought and sold, considered to be human property, and used mainly for manual labor. “Slavery became the heart of southern colonial society and …show more content…
Contrary to slaves, they were in fact indentured servants whose freedom could be eventually bought (History, 2015). Immigrants began to congregate in major cities making their own little cities within, staying close to cultural roots. Around this same time, the call for industrialization began in the north. Industrialization mainly called for infrastructure improvements, such as railroads and the growing production of textiles. Factories began to arise everywhere, with bad, unsafe working conditions and low wages. Immigrants were not even given the right to unionize, which would improve working conditions and increase wages. As all these injustices unfolded, one of the most barbaric labor practices was child labor. Immigrants were so poor they had to send their children to factories to work to earn a wage in order to survive. Children were very valuable in factories due to their short stature and little hands. Children were also exploited to do jobs becoming a newspaper boy and street vendors. Child labor meant more unskilled workers and less educated citizens coming out of

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